Linear reciprocating propulsion apparatus

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a linear reciprocating driving apparatus. It includes a sliding assembly, a slave chain-engaging and reversing mechanism, a flying wheel, a driven sprocket, a driving chain, and a guide column. The sliding assembly is arranged on the framework of the propulsion apparatus to be activated by a rider. Also there is provided a slave chain-engaging and reversing mechanics with compensation means. The propulsion apparatus can obtain satisfying results and high efficiency. The invention can be applied to various manually powered vehicle and watercraft. They are mainly used for communication to substitute walking and physical exercise.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a driving apparatus and, in particular,to a driving apparatus that is characterized by a single endless chainand manually powered linear propulsion, mainly used for non-motorizedvehicles or vessels with stable support.

2. Description of Prior Art

Vehicles and vessels need to be driven by power. Manually powereddevices are commonly used in non-motorized wheel vehicles, among whichsome have linear reciprocating driving mechanisms for the purpose ofsubstituting for walking rather than entertaining or exercising. Theirstructures are complex. Few can be put into actual use.

Chinese Pat. No. 99108216.8 (CN1275511A) discloses a bicycle with linearmovement of pedaling. It has a toothed rack driving mechanism affixed ona tilted square frame. There are two toothed racks in a sliding groove.Depression of either pedal will cause the racks to move, thus drawsprocket wheels and a chain, and transfer the power to a rear drivingwheel. A reset gear is used for reset control.

Other related patents are U.S. Pat. No. 6,129,646 (Farmos), U.S. Pat.No. 5,236,211 (Meguerditchian), Fr,A,2544052(MICHAUDETG), U.S. Pat. No.4,169,609 (Zsmpedro), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,235 (Shelly). All theabove-mentioned references disclose open technical designs that employdouble endless chain mechanisms for alternate propelling. The operatingprocess is simple. However it needs two sets of components to workalternately. The structure is very complicated and there are somedifficulties in processing and installation.

Chinese Pat. No. 99123093.0 (CN1298824A) discloses a bicycle with arocking crank. Its driving mechanism adopts two prime cranks on the leftand right for pedal driving. The rear end of the crank is connected withthe shaft end of a rear wheel with a driven crank linked in between, todrive a small sprocket and form a secondary transmission together with acoaxial large sprocket. Finally, the driving power is transmitted to thedriving shaft of the rear wheel. Its method of operation approximatesthe linear movement of pedaling. But with too many transmission links,its efficiency is unavoidably reduced.

Chinese Patent Application (Application No. 01132621.2) discloses “atractive chain-gripping cycle” including the structure of a steel wirerope traction. However, the steel wire rope will curl in the course oftransmitting torque via a small pulley and the curl will affect normaloperation of the cycle. In addition, the mechanism sometimes fails inreversing.

Obviously, the mechanism of the linear pedaling type shall first ensureits smooth and continuous operation, as well as the convenience duringmanufacture, especially avoid excessive transmission links and reduceidle runs so as to improve transmission efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a tractive linear driving apparatuswith good integration and structure quality which can be convenientlyequipped on manually-powered carriers. The apparatus has considerableflexibility in the manner of applying force, greater scope fordevelopment and design, and comparatively higher transmissionefficiency.

The present invention of tractive linear reciprocating driving apparatusconsists of a (main) frame as a fixed member; a sliding assemblyincorporating a chain-gripping and reversing mechanism as a movablemember; and a single endless chain, and its sprocket wheel and flywheelas a transmission member. The shaft of a flywheel outputs power andachieves mechanical transmission.

This tractive linear reciprocating driving apparatus comprises a slidingassembly, a slave chain-gripping and reversing mechanism, a flywheel, adriven sprocket, a chain and a main guide column, said apparatuscomprising:

a main frame that consists of a guide column, an auxiliary frame columnand main frame endplates, the two ends of the frame are affixed with theflywheel and the driven sprocket with a single endless chain installedand linked in between. Its guide column and auxiliary frame column usedfor directional linear sliding are installed on the side of the planeformed by the endless chain. A sliding assembly for linear driving and aslave chain-gripping and reversing mechanism are installed on the guidecolumn. The upper and lower slide bars of the sliding assembly aremounted on the guide column for sliding upwards and downwards along theguide column. The pedals and handpowered rods are fixed to plates onboth sides of the sliding assembly for driving forces to apply thereon;

The apparatus is characterized by:

1) the slave chain-gripping and reversing mechanism has a chain-grippingbox located in the plane of the chain ring; the upper and lower slaveslide bars connected with the chain-gripping box are mounted on theguide column. A chain-gripping tooth plate is provided in thechain-gripping box. One end of the chain-gripping tooth plate that issubject to force is float-connected to the sliding assembly via aconnector. The connector consists of a pull-up rod, a pull-down rod anda connecting rod. The tooth plate in said chain-gripping box has twochain-gripping teeth to engage said chain on both directions to workjointly with both chain-retaining boards to engage the chainalternatively.

2) a reversing compensation means is provided for the slavechain-gripping and reversing mechanism to reverse, the reversingcompensation means comprising a resilient member contacting the front ofthe tooth of the driven sprocket directly or indirectly in oppositedirection, and reserving a space or clearance for movement.

The reversing compensation means is a mobile mechanism for the purposeof elastic contact located on or beneath the slave sprocket. An arm ofthe reversing compensation means is in contact with the front surface ofthe tooth of the driven sprocket elastically under the action of itsresilient member. To stop or prevent the reversing movement of the chaintooth of the driven sprocket, said arm may press the chain tooth underthe action of a spring, thus realize smooth reverse and a certainbuffering result.

The reversing compensation means is a modified single-stage flywheel, inwhich there is a structural member for transmission between a leafspring and a chain tooth. The leaf spring supports the rear end of ajack to make it elastically contact firstly with the front oftrapezoid-shape rackets and then indirectly with the front surface ofthe chain tooth of an outer hull of the flywheel.

The tractive linear reciprocating driving apparatus of this inventionhas the following positive effects.

1. Since it adopts a single endless chain structure, the drivingapparatus of the present invention has a more compact structure and isconvenient in manufacturing and installation. In application, the wholeapparatus can be installed directly in combination with the drivingwheel or an axle of a vehicle or a boat. Linearly is applying of forceproduces higher efficiency. Even if an additional level of chaintransmission is added, the effect is still quite good.

2. This driving apparatus is used mainly for equipping the exercisingapparatus, due to the feature of the convenient and natural method ofapplying force. By simultaneously pedaling with his foot and pullingwith his hand in operation, a user can obtain a comprehensive exerciseeffect. It is applicable to a one-man, two-man or multi-manmanually-powered vehicle or boat, as well as transportation means or foruse in sports competition.

3. Since the sliding assembly can adapt to the change of differentangles of force applied thereto, it provides more room for design tomeet different seating postures requirements and satisfy various needsin developing application fields and products diversification.

4. Since the present apparatus is more suitable for installing in astably supported vehicle or boat, it has the features of convenience,safety and comfort. It can be operated by a user in chair and thussuitable for the old, weak and disabled for relaxation andentertainment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the cross section along line A-A.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of the swing chain-gripping tooth plate.

FIG. 4 is a structural diagram of a reversing compensation means.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of a linear moving chain-gripping toothplate.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of another type of sliding assembly.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of reversing compensation meansintegrated with a driven sprocket.

FIG. 8 is a structural schematic diagram of one-man driving tricycle ofa first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the embodiment in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of two-man driving tricycle of a secondembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of amphibian bicycle of a thirdembodiment.

In the above-mentioned drawings, the following reference numbersrepresent: 1. main frame 2. flywheel 3. chain 4. sliding assembly 5.pedal 6. hand-pulling rod 7. guide column 8. driven sprocket 9. sprocketsupport 10. reversing compensation means 11. auxiliary frame pillar 11A.guide tongue 12. upper slide bar of the sliding assembly 13. pull-up rod14. chain-gripping box 15. slave chain-gripping and reversing mechanism16. slave upper slide bar 17. chain-retaining board 18. slave lowerslide bar 19. chain-gripping tooth plate 20. lower slide bar of thesliding assembly 21. pull-down rod 22. nose of connecting rod 23. frontbutt plate of the sliding assembly 24. rear butt plate of slippingmodule 25. transitional coupling plate 26. bottom plate ofchain-gripping box 27. short shaft 28. hole to connect rod nose 29.chain-gripping teeth 30. limit pin 31. chain-engaging teeth 32. hangingplate 33. groove frame 34. positioning hole 35. tension spring 36.strong compressed spring 37. arm 38. arm shaft 39. damp spring leaf 40.guide groove 41. jogger 42. guide rail of plate column form 43. chute44. chain tooth 45. leaf spring 46. chute wall 47. compensationclearance 48. mobile top block 49. jack spring 50. jack 51.trapezoid-shape ratchet 52. steel bead 53. seat 54. vehicle frame 55.regulating wheel 56. foot-controlled rudder pole 57. driving wheel 58.follower wheel 59. handle bar 60. rod handle 61. connecting rod 62. main(rear) buoy 63. side buoy 64. front buoy 65. propeller

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A better understanding of the invention will be obtained by referring tothe accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a tractive linear reciprocating driving apparatus ofthis invention. It comprises a main frame 1 that consists of, a guidecolumn 7, an auxiliary frame 11 and frame endplates. Connected to oneend of the main frame is a flywheel 2 with driving sprocket and to theother end is a slave sprocket 8 with the same diameter, with a singleendless chain installed in between. The guide column and the auxiliaryframe column are installed on the side of the chain ring plane(backwards in the figure). A sliding assembly 4 and a slavechain-gripping and reversing mechanism 15 are installed on the guidecolumn. The main frame may be installed in different ways for thedifferent applications, and can be installed in the appropriate positionof a vehicle or a boat through connecting pieces. In this embodiment,the upper and lower slide bars 12, 20 of the sliding assembly aremounted on the guide column 7 to slide upwards and downwards along theguide column with a guide tongue 11A. Pedal 5 and hand-pulling rod 6 areaffixed to rear butt plate of the sliding assembly so as to apply forcewith foot and hand, respectively. The chain gripping box 14 in saidslave chain-gripping and reversing mechanism operates in the plane ofthe chain ring. The chain-gripping box 14 is connected with the upperand lower slave slide bars 16, 18 and mounted together on the guidecolumn 7. The chain-gripping box 14 is provided with a chain-grippingtooth plate 19 that is float-connected by a pull-up rod, a pull-downrod, a nose of a connecting rod and to the sliding assembly. The platefollows up the upward or downward movement of the sliding assembly andcontrols the activity of chain-gripping. In the figure, flywheel 2—thedriving sprocket to output power, turns the force applied thereto inlinear way to shaft torque to operate the driving wheel. Thechain-retaining board 17 with an arc projection to retain the chain isused to limit the position of chain in reversing and guarantee saidchain-gripping tooth to engage chain smoothly. Reversing compensationmeans 10 guarantees the smooth operation of the slave chain-gripping andreversing mechanism. As shown in the figure, a chain-tensioning deviceis provided on the sprocket support 9 to adjust the tensioning of thechain by drawing slave sprocket shaft. The conventional structure of abicycle chain tensioning device is adopted for this embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagrammatic top view of this invention. Underneathis a bottom plate of the main frame 1, the guide column 7 and theauxiliary frame pillar 11 on both sides. Pedal 5 is on the left andconnecting the front butt plate of the sliding assembly 23, 24 and thelower slide bar 20. The chain-gripping box 14 is shown in crosssectional view comprising chain-gripping tooth plate 19, the pull-downrod 21 and a flywheel hidden underneath. The chain-gripping box 14connects the upper and lower slave slide bars with transitional couplingplate 25. As shown in the figure, a slave lower slide bar 18 and a lowerslide bar of the sliding assembly 20 match with the jaw at a guidetongue 11A on the right. The relation of connection between lower slidebar 20 and two butt plates 23, 24 of the sliding assembly incorporatinga hand-pulling rod 6 and a pedal 5 is clearly shown.

FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of the chain-gripping assembly in saidchain-gripping box. It belongs to a swing chain-gripping mechanism. Achain-gripping tooth plate 19 is fixed on a bottom plate 26 by a shortshaft 27 with a hole 28 to connect the rod nose. When the tooth platebeing drawn upwards and downwards, it swings and reverses the direction.There are two chain-gripping teeth 29, 31 toward two opposite directionson said chain-gripping tooth plate 19. The tooth plate and thechain-retaining board 17 with a chain-retaining arc projection,cooperate with chain 3 and activate alternately to perform automaticslave reversing. There is a limit pin 30.

The course of slave reversing control is as follows: when the nose ofthe connecting rod 22 is drawn downwards, the chain-gripping teeth 31will insert in chain-links on the left to carry said chain to godownwards; when drawn upwards, the chain-engaging teeth 31 willdisengage the chain and the chain-engaging teeth 29 will insert in chainon the right to carry said chain to go upwards. There is a limit pin 30.

FIG. 4 illustrates the reversing compensation means installed on thelower part of the slave sprocket on the frame. The hanging plate 32 ofsaid device is connected with a slave sprocket 8 by a coaxial coupling.An arm 37 is rotatable around the arm axle 38 in the hanging plate 32.The upper arm end makes straightforward contact with the sprocket teeth.The lower arm end connects a tension spring 35, enabling the upper armend to contact the front surface of the sprocket tooth directly andalways engage said toothsurface. In reversing of direction, when thechain-gripping tooth plate 19 below moves towards opposite side, acompensation motion in opposite direction occurs to solve the problemthat the chain-gripping teeth cannot be inserted in the chain link holefor an instant, and ensures smooth reversing. A strong compressed spring36 acts as a buffer in the course of reversing direction. 38 is an armaxle for securing the arm. A positioning hole 34 is used for adjustingmounting position. 39 is a damp spring leaf. 33 is a fixed groove frame.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the chain-gripping tooth platewith linear motion structure. The chain-gripping tooth plate reversesits direction by moving in the guide groove 40. In addition, joggers 41are added.

FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of the guide column structurewherein 4 is the sliding assembly and the slave chain-gripping andreversing mechanism is also located therein. 42 is a guide rail of platecolumn form and 43 is a chute.

FIG. 7 illustrates a reverse compensation means modified from asingle-stage flywheel of a conventional bicycle. It can function as aslave sprocket or a flywheel. The figure shows a part of the flywheelcase in which 44 is a chain tooth in the outskirt of the outer hull thatincorporates the trapezoid shape ratchets 51 in the inner margin of saidouter hull 4. A bead path with steel beads installed therein is locatedon both sides of said ratchets. A jack 50 (or chaplet) supports theinner side of said ratchet to force the outer hull only to be inunidirectional rotation. A jack spring 49 (or chaplet spring) forcessaid jack to prop up and always be in a working condition. A flywheelbase and a bottom cover plate form an inner hull installed on the driveshaft. Originally, the flywheel performs only circular motion. There isno reversing or compensation problem. To adapt to the reversing functionin this tractive linear reciprocating driving apparatus, a mobile topblock 48 is added in a jack groove of the inner hull, which is betweenthe original jack and the fixed block to support the jack, leaving anappropriate clearance (length) 47 for reversing compensation. 46 is thechute wall. A leaf spring 45 is provided behind said mobile top block.The leaf spring bends when said jack presses said ratchet. When in use,the compensator inner hull is fixed. During reversing, the leaf springthereof rebounds and presses said jack to provide a compensation shiftin the opposite direction and carries out the insertion of the teeth ofthe chain-gripping tooth plate into the chain hole during said shift soas to avoid instant failing of insertion and guarantee a smoothreversing.

FIGS. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are embodiments of three different applications ofthis invention.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate structure of a one-man manually-poweredtricycle that comprises a carriage 54, a regulating wheel 55, a drivingwheel 57, a follower wheel 58, a pedal 5, a seat 53, handlebar, as wellas the transmission and brake devices. The conventional mechanism isused for its brake device. The driving wheel is in the front to theright. The regulating wheel is in the back. The driving apparatus isinstalled on the carriage in front of the seat. Connected to drivingapparatus 1 are the pedal, rod handles 60, handle bar 59 and afoot-controlled rudder pole 56 with positions for two feet. In thisembodiment, both hands and feet can be used simultaneously, with onefoot controlling direction. On the basis of this embodiment, a two-manmanually-powered tricycle can be developed simply by widening thecarriage and the seat. A conventional brake can also be used.

The following explains the working procedure of the tractive linearreciprocating driving apparatus of this invention as shown in theembodiment of said one-man tricycle.

1. After seated, a user controls regulating wheel with one foot, pedalswith the other foot, grips the rod handle with one hand to be ready forlifting and holds the handle bar with the other hand.

2. When pedaling by the user, the sliding assembly 4 goes downwardsalong a straight line, through the nose of the connecting rod 22, drivesthe pull-down rod 21 to enable the chain-gripping teeth 31 of thechain-gripping tooth plate 19 to insert into the left chain. Bycontinuously applying force by the user, the flywheel 2 operates and thedriving wheel rotates to drive the tricycle forwards (to the left in thefigure).

3. When lifting the rod with hand by the user, the sliding assembly 4goes upwards along a straight line and through the pull-up rod 13enables chain-gripping teeth 29 of the chain-gripping tooth plate 19 toinsert in the right chain. By continuously applying force by the user,flywheel 2 rotates in original direction and the driving wheel rotatesto drive the tricycle forwards (to the left in the figure).

4. When stopping applying force by the user during pedaling with his/herfoot and lifting with his/her hand, the tricycle keeps running forwardby inertia.

5. Repeat above-said operation of stepping with the foot and liftingwith the hand, the tricycle keeps running forward.

FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment a fore-and-aft two-man tricycle. Theregulating wheel 55 is located on the left front. The driving wheel 57is on the right side in the middle. The follower rear wheel 58 isprovided on the left side of the rear seat. In another word, the frontand rear wheels are on one side and the driving wheel in the middle ison the other side. Two fore-and-aft seats are provided. The front seatrider controls the direction and pedals with his foot, thus theconnecting rod 61 transmits the driving power to the sliding assembly.The rear seat rider mainly pulls the rod 60 to apply force. Two ridersalternately apply force to jointly drive the tricycle forward. Ifnecessary, the rear seat rider may help in applying force with pedaling.In fact, various two-man embodiments may be designed by utilizing thedriving apparatus of this invention, for example, the design with rearregulating wheel, the design with double driving apparatus and two-manseats facing the same direction, the design with a single or doubledriving apparatus and two-man seats facing opposite direction, and thedesign with single or double driving apparatus having 4 parallel wheels.

FIG. 11 illustrates a structural representation of an amphibious bicyclethat incorporates a carriage 54 and wheels, with the driving apparatus 1tilting in the front. To suit application in water, a propeller 65driven by a chain drive is positioned on the upper front. The propeller65 has a draft of ¼˜⅙ of the propeller diameter. Three pairs of buoysare set in the front, middle and rear parts of the carriage on the leftand right sides. They are the front buoys 64, side buoys 63 and main(rear) buoys 62, respectively. The side buoys 63 are fixed on both sidesof carriage with the supporting litter that incorporate hinges toretract buoys. The buoys at position B, C and D are omitted on one sidein the figure.

As indicated above, many products with different structures can bedeveloped utilizing the driving apparatus of this invention. Sucharrangements also include: adding an additional chain drive, utilizingleverage or hydraulic transmission, using multiple driving apparatus anddifferent seating postures. Since there may be many varieties, thisinvention has an excellent future in practical application.

1. A tractive linear reciprocating driving apparatus comprising: a frameof the driving apparatus composed of a guide column, an auxiliary framepillar and frame end plates, two opposite ends of the frame equippedwith a flywheel and a slave sprocket, respectively, with a singleendless chain operatively connected therebetween to form a chain ring,the guide column and the auxiliary frame pillar positioned on a planethat is parallel to the endless chain ring plane; and a sliding assemblyused for driving and a slave chain-engaging and reversing mechanismthereof mounted on the guide column, the sliding assembly having upperand lower slide bars mounted on the guide column for sliding along theguide column, at least one pedal and at least one hand-controlled rodused for propulsion mounted on an outside butt plate of the slidingassembly; wherein: a chain engagement means of said slave chain-engagingand reversing mechanism is positioned in the endless chain ring plane,said chain engagement means being connected with upper and lower slaveslide bars that are mounted on the guide column, a chain engaging toothplate being provided in the chain engagement means and one end of thechain engaging tooth plane being operably connected with the slidingassembly via connecting pieces including a pull-up rod, a pull-down rodand a nose of a connecting rod; two chain-engaging teeth positioned onthe chain engaging tooth plate; said two chain-engaging teeth tiltedtowards two opposite directions and alternatively engaging the endlesschain, in cooperation with a chain-retaining board having achain-retaining arc projection; a reversing compensation means used withthe slave chain-engaging and reversing mechanism has a resilient memberthat can contact a front surface of a chain tooth on the flywheel or theslave sprocket directly in inverse direction, and a space or clearanceis reserved for movement.
 2. The tractive linear reciprocating drivingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said resilient member mountedbeneath the slave sprocket and an arm of the resilient memberelastically contacts the front surface of a chain tooth of the slavesprocket.
 3. The tractive linear reciprocating driving apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said reversing compensation means is amodified single-stage flywheel in which there is a structural member fortransmission of force between a leaf spring and a chain tooth of theflywheel, the leaf spring pressing a rear end of a jack located near aninner periphery of the flywheel to make the jack firstly elasticallycontact a front surface of trapezoid shape rackets on the innerperiphery of the flywheel and then indirectly contact the front surfaceof a chain tooth on an outer hull of the flywheel.
 4. A tractive linearreciprocating driving apparatus comprising: a frame of the drivingapparatus composed of a guide column in parallel with an auxiliary framepillar, and two parallel frame end plates in perpendicular positionconnecting both ends of the guide column and the auxiliary frame pillarto form a generally rectangular shape, two opposite ends of frameequipped with a flywheel and a slave sprocket, respectively, with asingle endless chain operatively connected therebetween to form a chainring, the guide column and the auxiliary frame pillar positioned on aplane that is parallel to the endless chain ring plane; and a slidingassembly used for driving and a slave chain-engaging and reversingmechanism thereof mounted on the guide column, the sliding assemblyhaving upper and lower slide bars mounted on the guide column forsliding along the guide column, at least one pedal and at least onehand-controlled rod used for propulsion mounted on an outside butt plateof the sliding assembly; wherein: a chain engagement means of said slavechain-engaging and reversing mechanism is positioned in the endlesschain ring plane, said chain engagement means being connected with upperand lower slave slide bars that are mounted on the guide column, a chainengaging tooth plate being provided in the chain engagement means andone end of the chain engaging tooth plane being operably connected withthe sliding assembly via connecting pieces including a pull-up rod, apull-down rod and a nose of a connecting rod; two chain-engaging teethpositioned on the chain engaging tooth plate; said two chain-engagingteeth tilted towards two opposite directions and alternatively engagingthe endless chain in cooperation with a chain-retaining board having achain-retaining arc projection; a reversing compensation means used withthe slave chain-engaging and reversing mechanism has a resilient memberthat can contact a front surface of a chain tooth on the flywheel or theslave sprocket directly in inverse direction, and a space or clearanceis reserved for movement.